Xhaka’s blunder costs Arsenal in 1-1 draw with Burnley

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2021 (2009 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BURNLEY, England – Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka gifted a bizarre equalizer to Burnley in a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Saturday that further damaged his team’s chances of reaching the European qualification positions.

Xhaka received a pass from goalkeeper Bernd Leno inside Arsenal’s penalty area and attempted a pass around Burnley striker Chris Wood to teammate David Luiz with his weaker right foot. The ball went straight to Wood and deflected into the net off the striker’s hip in the 39th minute.

That cancelled out a fifth-minute opener by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a game that only really came to life in the final 15 minutes.

After Arsenal was denied a penalty for an apparent handball against substitute Erik Pieters, the Burnley defender seemed to give away a spot kick in a separate incident in the 84th when a goal-bound volley from Nicolas Pepe appeared to strike Pieters’ arm and deflect onto the crossbar.

Pieters was also shown the red card, but VAR looked at the incident and deemed the ball hit his shoulder, so both the awarding of the penalty and the sending-off were overturned.

Burnley also came close to snatching victory, with Leno first tipping over a dipping long-range effort from Pieters and then saving with his feet from Wood.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Warm-Up

Winnipeg Jets Game Days

On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.

Sign up for The Warm-Up

Sign Up

I consent to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies.

I consent to CASL agreement.

Then, in the final seconds, Arsenal substitute Dani Ceballos struck the post following a goalmouth scramble.

Arsenal started the game nine points from European spots and has only 11 games left.

Burnley moved seven points clear of the relegation zone.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports